Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was the first English-language writer to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. When Kipling became frustrated with how the British and inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent could not get along, he wrote “Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.” His infamous 1892 ballad is just as applicable in today’s divisive political environment.

Recent Pew Research Center survey data show that since 2001 Republicans are describing themselves as more “conservative” than heretofore and Democrats are calling themselves more “liberal” than before. All research reveals this has created a left-wing versus right-wing separation we see too often at all levels of government.

Racially, the GOP’s base is becoming similar to the demographics of the 1990s — that is, whiter, while the Democrats are becoming more like America will be two decades from now, more racially diverse (i.e., black, brown, white and mixed-race).

Democrats are claiming urban counties; the GOP is taking ownership of rural America.

Women are more likely to identify with the Democratic Party, while men lean Republican.

Republicans are gaining with those ages 73 and older. Democrats are capturing a greater proportion of baby boomers (64-72), boomer II (53-63) and generation X (42-52). The greatest gain for Democrats are the Millennial voters, ages 24-41, especially female Millennials.

Voters with a high school diploma or GED are moving away from the Democratic Party and becoming GOP advocates. President Trump can expect the non-college educated to support his endeavors while the post-secondary educated voters will be counter to his every move.

One striking fact: Between 1994 and today, voters with a bachelor’s degree have flipped their political affiliation completely around. In 1994, college degree holders were 54 percent GOP and 39 percent Democrat. Today, it’s the opposite: 54 percent of the college educated are Democrats and 39 percent Republicans.

The old GOP guard believed in free trade and open markets. With President Trump’s Trans-Pacific Partnership withdrawal and uncertain fates for NAFTA and the WTO, the Republican Party is at a crossroads. Another sign: Research showing 46 percent of Republicans say free trade is good, 48 percent express free trade is bad.

Even more signs of the GOP’s struggle: More than 100 Republican House of Representatives recently signed a letter expressing misgivings about the president’s international trade tariff discourse and course of action.

With the current non-traditional political behavior under GOP-controlled leadership, research indicates Republicans and conservative-leaning independents are becoming more pessimistic about the future of the GOP while Democrats and liberal-leaning independents are more optimistic about the future of the Democratic Party.

Despite the partisan polarization gap that has been increasing during the past 20 years, there is one issue of common ground: Support for social acceptance of homosexuality is at a record high with majorities of both Democrats and Republicans.

With the predominant political parties becoming more and more divisive, we desperately need bipartisanship, compromise, working-across-the-aisle and centrist middle-ground political thinking. This may well be our only viable path to progress. Let’s earnestly work together to update Kipling’s prose to read: “Oh, left is left, and right is right, let’s foster the twain shall meet.”

To determine where you are on the left-to-right political spectrum take the 17 item Pew Research Center’s political typology quiz at www.people-press.org.